Friday, February 26, 2010

Haunted House!

Synopsis: Buttoned-up real estate agent Melanie Middleton, lover of order and all things modern, inherits an old house in Charleston, S.C., from a virtual stranger. Melanie can't help seeing the house as a big white elephant, especially regarding the terms; according to the will, Melanie's required to live in the house for a year, restoring it to its former glory, before she can sell so much as a piece of china. But as the house draws the attention (and ulterior motives) of a colorful group of locals, particularly GQ-handsome journalist Jack Trenholm, Melanie finds she has plenty of volunteers to help out.

My Take: I am not someone who picks up books with a ghost theme if I can help it, but after hearing great reviewaftergreatreview in the blogosphere I just couldn't resist! The rest of the elements are what really tempted me. I am a sucker for any book set in the South. I don't know what it is. I think it's because my first, real adult book was 'Gone with the Wind' but ever since then, if a book is set somewhere in the South, I'll probably want to read it. Then it had the element of architecture. I've always dreamed of restoring a grand old house. One of the reasons I love San Francisco is the great old architecture. The main character, Melanie, gets to do just that, however, begrudgingly at first!

Melanie was a pretty easy main character to relate to I thought. She had a tough childhood and it made her have a bit of a hard edge. Her friends and the characters the came into her life because of the house were all entertaining and made for a great cast.

I know that the ghosts weren't really supposed to be scary but it really does take very little to scare me. While it wasn't like a keep me from sleeping kind of scared or haunt me kind of thing, when the ghost bits where coming I thought to myself, 'Oh no, not again!' but if you don't mind ghost stories or aren't easily scared you will find this book a cake walk.

The twist at the end was great! For those that haven't read it of course, sorry about this but for those that have read it, did everyone else see it coming? I knew that it had to be something like that for Louisa but I didn't guess that!

So, all in all a very entertaining read, made all the more enjoyable by the fact that I would never have heard of it had it not been for all my fine blogging friends! The only thing was, maybe it was my mood or the thousands of things I had going on, but it took me forever to get through! Oh well! And there's a sequal which I do look forward to reading: 'The Girl on Legare Street.'

7 comments:

Speaking of Southern books, have you read Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani? It's the first of a series, and they're very southern and good. I maaaay have it lying around, and if I do, you can borrow it. However, my books tend to disappear, so no promises.

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I love to read fiction of any kind (and some non-fiction!). When not reading, I am working hard for my money, exploring the great city of San Francisco, and harassing my husband's cat. Feel free to email me at: amusedbybooks@gmail.com